1. Field of the Invention
Class 53, Package Making, 399 Banding.
Class 100, Presses, 9, Preformed Continious Annular Binders.
Class 144, Woodworking, 192, Splitting and Bundling.
2. Background Art
Increasingly, urban householders are supplementing their home heating requirements by use of cut firewood from distant forests. Many of these householders get aesthetic enjoyment from the sounds and aroma of wood burning in their fire places and are willing to pay more for household heat when they have increased enjoyment from the sound and sight of burning wood. One sees an increased number of retail outlets for bundled firewood in their communities. There are increased numbers of forest wood lots to supply such householders. The chain of distribution from the forest wood lot is through one or more wholesale distributing firms, which of necessity, maintain tall stacks of bundled fire wood. Prior to our invention a material number of bundles broke and spilled. They had to be reconstuted because retailers would not accept broken bundles. The earliest attempt to deal with the broken bundle problem was to package wood in cardboard containers. The popular retail package is about a cubic foot of firewood. The cost of a cardboard container of such size is from 60 cents to a dollar, the heat value of a used cardboard container is minimal. Some wood lot operators have tried to bundle firewood with twine, cord or wire. Neither expedient has been successful. Cord lacked the resiliency to tighten bundles and did not cover a sufficient cross-section area of wood in a bundle to prevent pieces of wood from working free from the bundle. Once, one or a few pieces of firewood, became free from the bundle, the bundle collapses.
The advantage of the present invention is, the wood bundling apparatus is rugged and it is set in a rugged frame, which is a workbench, that withstands bending and misalignment of the moving parts, when operations are over rough terrain, where the workbench is certain to tumble and fall frequently. The workbench and the frame members are made of heavy steel or iron tubing. Except for convenience of shipping, no parts are thread joined. They are fitted, so that rust or corrosion will not prevent operation. Hard falls will not result in misalignment. Lubrication is unnecessary.
The assembled apparatus of the present invention, including the work bench frame and the bundling mechanism, can easily be moved for short distances, by one male adult. Also, such a person can lift the combined work bench frame and bundling mechanism upon the flat bed of a motor vehicle, for transport over open roads and across country.
Furthermore, the only power required for the bundling operation are the arm and leg muscles of the operator. The average adult male operator can bundle firewood for practically a full working day. The bundles of firewood are bound by thick, wide rubber bands salvaged from truck tire inner tubes, under tension, making it practically impossible for the bundles to break during transportation.